Atchman2
Well-Known Member
This morning I went down to my friend's farm to hunt again. I sat there for a good while, when a nice 6 point came limping up the hill. I'd heard someone shoot from over the hill. The thing was it was a quick shot, another one I shouldn't have taken. I didn't have time to use the rangefinder or even my rest! I'm a good offhand shot from squirrel hunting, but I was an epic fail on range and I shot right underneath it. :( Turns out it was 165 yards and I thought it was closer to 110 so. Still I went and scoured the woods for any sign of the buck or that I hit it with zero result. That was the second buck I've missed this week. :( Again, shouldn't have even shot, but I knew my rifle was on for a change and functioning perfectly. If I'd held about 8" or so high, he would have been in the truck.
Fast forward to tonight. I decided since the weather was going to be bad this weekend and I had to work tomorrow, I'd better try and squeeze in another hunt with the bucks being so active. Try as I may I didn't leave Knoxville until almost 4:30. THEN there was a wreck on I-40 west! I didn't even arrive until after 5 o'clock and only had minutes of shooting light left.
That was all it took. I came down the back trail to my blind and looked up and there was a little buck! He looked at me, I looked back and then he started to move away. I made a "grunt" sound with my own voice and stopped him. It was a quartering shot at about 60 yards or so offhand. Since he froze I had plenty of time to aim. KABLOOM! The white smoke obscured everything.
I reloaded quickly just in case. Since it was getting dark fast, I decided to go ahead and look for it. It was only about 10 yards away and still alive. It tried to get up and since I didn't want to track it in the dark, I administered "rule #2" and put it down for good. The bullet angled through and broke the front leg, but it died instantly from the chest wound.
Here he is a fat little four pointer. :) That is my Traditions Muzzleloader Walmart Special. :P Just this week I pulled the old 4X air rifle scope off of it and put on a Tasco 3 x 9 x 50. I'm shooting two Triple 7 pellets, with the Hornady 300 grain Sabot, and Remington Primers (the only ones that seem to work for me).
Only a four pointer. At first in the light I thought it was a doe! If I hadn't missed so many bucks so far this year, I'd probably have let it walk if I had taken his 6 point and 8 point brother from this same field.
Got him hanging up, ready to go to the processor in the morning!
I know it is a little deer, but I'm mostly a meat hunter for my friends. Honestly I was after a doe since in Roane County the number of does you can take is very liberal. Still, I've only been deer hunting for three years so any deer is a big deal for me. It is the seventh deer I've taken with that little Canyon Muzzleloader. :)
Fast forward to tonight. I decided since the weather was going to be bad this weekend and I had to work tomorrow, I'd better try and squeeze in another hunt with the bucks being so active. Try as I may I didn't leave Knoxville until almost 4:30. THEN there was a wreck on I-40 west! I didn't even arrive until after 5 o'clock and only had minutes of shooting light left.
That was all it took. I came down the back trail to my blind and looked up and there was a little buck! He looked at me, I looked back and then he started to move away. I made a "grunt" sound with my own voice and stopped him. It was a quartering shot at about 60 yards or so offhand. Since he froze I had plenty of time to aim. KABLOOM! The white smoke obscured everything.
I reloaded quickly just in case. Since it was getting dark fast, I decided to go ahead and look for it. It was only about 10 yards away and still alive. It tried to get up and since I didn't want to track it in the dark, I administered "rule #2" and put it down for good. The bullet angled through and broke the front leg, but it died instantly from the chest wound.
Here he is a fat little four pointer. :) That is my Traditions Muzzleloader Walmart Special. :P Just this week I pulled the old 4X air rifle scope off of it and put on a Tasco 3 x 9 x 50. I'm shooting two Triple 7 pellets, with the Hornady 300 grain Sabot, and Remington Primers (the only ones that seem to work for me).
Only a four pointer. At first in the light I thought it was a doe! If I hadn't missed so many bucks so far this year, I'd probably have let it walk if I had taken his 6 point and 8 point brother from this same field.
Got him hanging up, ready to go to the processor in the morning!
I know it is a little deer, but I'm mostly a meat hunter for my friends. Honestly I was after a doe since in Roane County the number of does you can take is very liberal. Still, I've only been deer hunting for three years so any deer is a big deal for me. It is the seventh deer I've taken with that little Canyon Muzzleloader. :)
